Beautiful Bets
by Medie Shanachie
Summary: Evan and Aiden spend some time in the game room, before finding out the punch was more dangerous than they knew.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This started out as pure smut and then took a left turn somewhere. Not entirely sure where and not entirely sure which one of them took control and changed my idea, but I hope you enjoy it._

_I think I have to blame the beginning of this story on my friend, Sheta Storm, who told me about kicking her friends' asses while playing Wii. That led us to a discussion of Aiden kicking the boys' asses on the Wii and eventually to Aiden kicking Lorne's ass with bets riding on the game and this story. Yeah, sometimes my mind is a scary place._

_Standard disclaimer: Lorne, Atlantis, Weir, Sheppard, McKay, Brown and the Wii don't belong to me and I am definitely not making any money off them. Aiden and Deke do although I'm not making any money off of them either._

* * *

Lorne flipped through the game cartridges for the Wii as Aiden sprawled out on the couch. They had left the party in the mess hall a few minutes earlier, but neither one of them was quite ready to separate and go back to their own quarters. More often than not lately, they ended up spending the night together, but they hadn't yet taken that final step where it was a forgone conclusion without discussion beforehand. Lorne was feeling a pleasant buzz from the beer he had consumed and he suspected Aiden was a bit more tipsy than her movements suggested. He wasn't entirely sure what had prompted the stop in the game room; their original goal had been one of the balconies-although that was probably a bad idea in their current state, but the Marines had gotten the Wii in a shipment a few weeks back and Aiden was curious to look at it. She apparently hadn't had any time before now. He snorted now as he reached the end of the choices. "I can tell the Marines definitely did the ordering for this," he said over his shoulder.

Aiden started to struggle into a sitting position, then decided it was too much of an effort, and flopped back down. Her head hung at an awkward angle; half on and half off the couch. "Why do you say that?" she asked.

Lorne reached over and pushed her back onto the couch; at least then his neck wouldn't ache looking at her. Then he turned back to the games, flipping through them as he said, "First person shooter, Olympic shooter, Alien Syndrome, football, baseball, first person shooter, some kind of battle strike game, Battalion Wars 2, etcetera, and so on. I think three-quarters of the games are either military or sports."

Aiden did sit up this time, stretching her arms above her head and causing her shirt to ride up, bearing a strip of skin between her jeans and shirt. Lorne's eyes were drawn there immediately and she grinned when she realized where he was looking. "Why don't we make it interesting then?" she suggested. "Pick one of the first shooter games."

"Aid, I don't think betting money is the way to make it more interesting," he replied, but he followed her directions and pulled one of the first shooter games out of the bin.

She got up and walked towards him, a sway in her step that had his eyes following her every movement. She straddled his thighs and sat down on them and his arms came up automatically to anchor her. "Who said anything about money?" she asked, then nipped lightly at his lips.

He pulled her up against him, then brought his right hand up and cupped her head, holding it steady and kissing her passionately. "What are you suggesting?" he asked against her lips when they broke the kiss to breathe.

"Forfeits," she responded breathlessly. "For example, the first person to five thousand points gets a favor from the loser. A sexual favor."

He raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

She shrugged. "Like if you get to five thousand points first, I'll blow you."

Evan's body tightened with desire at the thought of Aiden's mouth wrapped around his cock. It wasn't that she wasn't willing to do it; he just chose for both of them to participate and get pleasure when they made love. For a moment, he couldn't think as all his blood rushed south and he had to work really hard to drag his mind back to their conversation. "That doesn't seem really fair to you," he responded finally when he thought he could speak clearly, using the argument he normally used when she would start to suck him. "What if you get to five thousand first?"

She ran a finger around the collar of his shirt, dipping down into the open area, then up and around his hairline. She continued to do this as she answered, "If I get the points first, you can go down on me." She grinned at the intake of breath from him. "Like that idea, do you? We can come up with some other ideas for higher points and actually winning."

"That definitely sounds..." he paused to swallow and get control of himself again as images flashed through his mind, "interesting."

"So you're agreeable?" she asked, pressing down against where he was hardening between them.

He shifted her slightly so she wasn't pressed quite so intimately against him, then held her off as she tried to slide back against him. "Depends. How much of this is the punch talking?"

Aiden grinned saucily at him. "Oh, I'm drunk, but I'm not _that_ drunk. If I was completely smashed, I'd already be naked." She got off his lap, bending over to kiss him quickly, and also giving him a good view of her breasts through the low-cut shirt she had on. "And you'd be well on your way to the same situation."

He watched with bemusement as she set up the game console, popping in the cartridge he had selected. Her movements still had that careful quality that told him she was feeling the effects of the punch she had consumed more than she was admitting. "Okay, I'm in," he agreed. "What should the other forfeits be?"

She grinned over her shoulder at him. "Not yet you aren't, but that can be one of the forfeits."

He groaned as he got her meaning. "Geez, Aiden, you're gonna kill me."

"So rule number one, forfeits are payable over the next two weeks?" she asked and waited until he nodded in answer. "Anything off-limits?"

"No tying each other up," he cautioned. "I've had enough of that with work."

She nodded, knowing it was a painful subject with him and that being bound in anyway tended to make him panic. "That's fair. Anything you've ever wanted me to do that we haven't?" She stalked towards him, enticement in her eyes. "Come on, Evan, don't be so vanilla."

He laughed as she straddled his lap again. "Vanilla?" he asked.

"Missionary position; just straight sex." She ran a hand through his hair. "Go ahead, Evan, tell me your deepest, darkest fantasy. No harm, no foul."

He flushed at the thought of even saying that to her. "I don't think I can do that. I can't say those words to you."

She wiggled closer, pressing her body tightly against his, fitting herself against him in the way that was beginning to feel so right and natural. "Then whisper it in my ear," she said huskily. "I promise not to hold it against you."

"Aiden, I..."

"No bonds, Evan, verbal or otherwise. Whisper it in my ear," she whispered to him.

He brushed her hair aside and whispered in her ear, describing what he wanted to do to her. She shuddered against him when he finished and kissed him deeply, trying to crawl inside his mouth. "You beat me at the game," she told him, pulling away, "and I am _all_ yours. You can _definitely_ do that to me."

Evan grabbed her hand as she started to turn away to start the game. "And what do you want if you win?" he asked.

"What do I want?" She looked down at him. "I want you to make love to me in my lab."

"Aiden, I'm not so sure," he started.

"I can lock the door and we can pull the crystals on the inside. It isn't like we haven't done it before to have a little peace and quiet, just not for that reason." She grinned at him. "Besides think of it as added incentive to beat me if you don't want to do it."

"Some incentive," he grumbled as she turned the game and television on. "And no distracting me, Aiden," he told her as she backed up to watch it load. "You keep your hands to yourself."

She pouted. "You're no fun, Ev."

He handed the controller over to her. "I'm playing your game, aren't I?"

She nodded. "True. All right. So the rest of the forfeits?" A few moments of negotiation and they agreed to the actual rules. Instead of Aiden's suggestion; a kiss would be the first forfeit with whomever had the higher score controlling it and the other person passive. Aiden's idea would be the prize for the end of the first round, payable their next night off. The next round was a night of the loser pampering the winner ended by the playing out of the fantasy.

He graciously allowed her to go first, after setting it for two player, settling back on the couch to watch her. She set up in front of the television, her tongue between her lips and her eyes locked on the screen, her ass wiggling seductively as she tracked the action on screen. He opened his mouth to tell her to knock it off, then realized she was trying to distract him, and it would be better not to call attention to it. He stretched out, his foot just brushing the edge of her leg and watched; waiting to see what she would do next.

Aiden glanced over her shoulder at his touch and grinned at him, licking her lips. He met her gaze with his own, then reached slowly down and adjusted himself in his jeans. Her eyes drifted downwards, following his hand and they stayed locked on his crotch as he dragged a finger down his cock. "Going to shoot, Aiden?" he asked as the game started.

"Shite!" She wiped her head around and began firing.

Despite her distraction, Aiden scored pretty well. Evan stood up as she finished and took the controller from her. She ran her hand down his chest as they switched places, but he didn't allow her to make it any farther than his belt-line. "No," he told her. "Not until I've had my turn."

Aiden perched on the arm of the couch as he took his position and activated the game, picking up the beer bottle he had set on the side table. "Okay if I finish off your beer?" she asked.

"Don't you think you've had enough?" he asked as he began firing.

"I told you I'm not that drunk, Ev. If you don't want me to have it though, I won't. I'll just go get a soda or something." She started to get off the arm of the couch.

He didn't want her to leave, certain it would kill the mood they had started. "No, go ahead and finish it. Just be careful." He swore as he missed the last of his shots and the final scores flashed up. He set the controller down. "Looks like you won the first round," he told her.

She upended the bottle and drank the dregs, then crooked her finger at him, beckoning him towards her. He stalked towards her, then stopped before her. She grabbed his belt loops and turned him around. Normally she wouldn't be able to move him, but he went easily, allowing her to manipulate him. She shoved him down onto the couch, then straddled him, pulling his hand out from underneath her as she dropped into place. She placed her hands on his face, tilting his head up so they had the right angle, then lowered her head slowly towards his.

He could still remember their first kiss; the awkwardness, the nervousness that she would push him away. They had kissed many times since then; for many different reasons and in many different ways, but he had never been so passive. He let her set the pace completely. Aiden made the connection between them; she opened her mouth first and requested entrance to his own; she invited his tongue back into her mouth. Finally despite their agreement, he couldn't remain still any longer, he slid a hand up her leg and when she didn't stop him, he continued the movement, slipping his fingers beneath her shirt and finding her breast. While that hand began to rub her nipple, the other crept around and cupped her ass.

It was at that moment that the door slid open. "Hey, you guys need..." Deke started then trailed off as he realized what he had interrupted. "Oops. Sorry, boss, Doc."

Aiden jerked back, but Evan caught her before she tumbled off his lap. Once he was sure she wouldn't fall backwards, he released her and allowed her to scramble away from him. Both of them flushed deeply. "Did you need something, Deke?" Evan asked, proud of how steady his voice was.

If Deke's skin wasn't so dark, Evan was sure he would have seen a matching blush on the other man's face. "Ah, Doctor Weir sent the sober Marines to make sure everyone gets safely back to their quarters," he said, very carefully not looking at either the major or the linguist.

"Does Doctor Weir want everyone back in their quarters?" Evan asked as Aiden turned away to try to compose herself.

Deke nodded, biting his lip to contain his grin at the image he had been presented with when he opened the door. "Bain and McKay are up in the control room co-ordinating the searches," he explained. He did grin then at the memory of where they had discovered some of the scientists and off-duty personal. "You _wouldn't_ believe some of the places people can get into."

"Oh, yes, I would," Evan replied, remembering the scavenger hunt on the_Daedalus_ during the trip to the Pegasus Galaxy. "Where's Sheppard?" He frowned at his computer tech as reality began to penetrate his lust and beer clouded mind. "And how are you sober?"

"Sheppard and Atlantis appear to be in cahoots. No one can locate him. Apparently the city is able to hide his locator beacon at will as well as his life sign." Deke held up a hand when Evan started to interrupt. "I'm on it. As soon as I get you and the doc back to quarters. You're not in any shape to help, boss."

Aiden pouted as she looked up from where she had cuddled against Evan's side. "Aw, you don't want to play games with us, Deke?" she asked, joining the conversation for the first time. "We'd have to change the forfeits cuz Evan's too vanilla for a three-some, but I bet you could easily kick his ass."

"Forfeits? Three-some?" Deke questioned, then shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to know." He studied the younger linguist for a moment, then asked Evan, "How drunk is she?"

Evan pulled his hands away from his face. He had covered it at Aiden's words; although he wasn't sure if he was hiding from her words or her. "Apparently drunker than I thought. Thanks for the warning about the sweep. I'll get her back to her quarters."

"Yeah. About that." Deke hooked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the rest of the city. "Gossip central might have you two hooked up, but its not really common knowledge. If you escort her back alone..." he trailed off.

Evan caught Aiden's hand as it began to wander along his leg towards his crotch. "Good point." He stood up and hauled Aiden to her feet, holding her at arm's length as she tried to sway into him. "But I don't think you should take her back alone either."

Deke grinned as he flipped the switches that controlled the Wii and the television, turning them both off. "Afraid for her virtue?" he asked.

Evan gave up on keeping Aiden away from him and allowed her to sag into him, he caught her hand as it planted itself on his ass and moved it to a safer location. "No, yours," he retorted as the three of them left the game room. "She's a bit ah- amorous -tonight."

"No worries about my virtue," Deke replied, grabbing Aiden's arm as she and Evan started to tip over because she had leaned too heavily against him. "I lost that years ago. Lemme guess...she had the punch and then a beer?"

Evan raised an eyebrow as they manhandled the now pliant linguist into the transporter. He sagged against the wall and allowed Aiden to lean against him, after making sure both her hands were in view. "How'd you guess?" he asked.

Deke indicated their teammate who was nuzzling Evan's chest through his open shirt sleepily. "She pretty much jumped you earlier, right? Now she's crashing. Whoever spiked the punch used something one of the botanists found. Weir already ordered an investigation and that was the main reason for the sweep. Apparently the person only crashes if they drink beer on top of the punch."

Evan winched. This was his fault then for allowing her to finish off his beer. "Do we need to get her to Beckett?"

Deke squeezed his shoulder in sympathy, knowing that somehow his boss and friend would be blaming himself for Aiden's condition. "She'll be fine as long as she sleeps it off. Doctor Brown was sober enough to tell us what exactly the compound was. Doc'll need to sleep it off and she'll probably be hung over and embarrassed a little, but no harm, no foul." He grinned at the other man. "There's a lot of people in worse positions. At least if she had succeeded in getting laid it woulda been with the guy she was already sleeping with and both of you would have been consenting. I'm not sure how many of the people who ended up together would have if not for the punch."

Evan shook his head as he waved his hand at the door crystals to Aiden's quarters. "I don't want to know and yet, I have the feeling I'll be reading reports about this for a while."

Deke shrugged as the other two entered the room. "I dunno. Weir might put this in the 'don't ask, don't tell' column." He indicated Aiden who was almost asleep on her feet. "You got her from here?"

Evan nodded. "I'll get her settled, then come up to Command and give you guys a hand."

Deke waved off his offer of help. "Don't bother. Even if you didn't drink the punch, you're still buzzed from the beer. I was working in the control room before this all happened so I'm sober. Stay here with the doc in case she needs you." He stepped back, but didn't allow the door to close. "I'll call if we need you or if we can't find Sheppard."

"Try some of the smaller piers," Evan suggested. Deke nodded in response and walked away. Evan locked the door after it slid shut and then considered Aiden who had collapsed against him and appeared down for the count. Thankful that she was slight, he scooped her up and carried her over to the bed.

As he deposited her on it, she opened her eyes. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Go back to sleep, Aiden," he soothed. "You're safe. We're in your quarters." He smoothed her hair back from her face and tugged at her shirt. "Lift up and let me get this off you." She complied, not even questioning what he was doing, which worried him. After he had pulled it over her head, she dropped back onto the bed and lay sprawled out on her back. He wiggled a hand under her back and unhooked her bra, then pulled it off. Glad that his baser instincts were subdued by her lack of participation, despite the earlier foreplay, he looked around for a t-shirt to clothe her in. Finally he spied one of his laying on the chair that he must have left during a prior visit. He pulled her upright and slid it over her head, pushing her unresisting arms through the holes. Finally he slipped her shoes, socks, and jeans off.

As he stood up to shuck his own clothes, her eyes popped open again and she grabbed frantically for his hand. "Don't leave me!"

He paused and bent over, kissing her gently on the forehead. "I'm not leaving, Aiden. I'm just getting comfortable," he soothed. Her grip relaxed at his words, but she didn't let go completely. "Let go a minute, honey, and let me change. Then I'll hold you." He eased her hand off his and waited until she settled down before beginning to undress again.

She rolled onto her side, awake enough now to watch him. "You aren't leaving?" she questioned.

"No," he answered as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants. "I'm just going to get drink of water," he told her. "I'll be right back." He went into the bathroom, glad Atlantis was familiar enough with him being in Aiden's quarters to turn on the lights for him without any prompting. After he took a drink, he filled the glass again and carried it out to Aiden. She had curled up almost into a fetal position in his absence, with her hair obscuring most of her face. He brushed it away from her and ran a finger down her cheek. "Aiden, sweetie, sit up and drink this, please," he requested.

She cracked one eye open and glared at him. "Why?"

"Because you've had a lot to drink and this will make you feel better tomorrow. Come on, honey, drink it and then you can sleep," he told her.

"Will you stay with me if I drink it?" she bargained.

"Absolutely," he agreed.

She sat up and drank it down so quickly he was afraid she was going to throw it right back up, but she just handed the cup back to him and lay back down. "Come to bed," she commanded.

He set the cup on the nightstand and got into bed, curling up behind her and pulling the blankets over them both. She snuggled up against him, arranging his arm underneath her so her head rest against it and then pulling his other arm around her waist. Finally she settled her ass against his crotch and sighed contentedly. "You comfortable?" he asked when she stopped moving, somewhat amused by the way she was arranging their bodies.

She laced her fingers through the hand that was draped around her waist and brought it up so she could kiss his fingers, then set it against her breast so both their hands cradled it. "Now I am," she told him sleepily. "Je t'aime, Evan. Puits de sommeil."

Evan jerked his head up, trying to peer around and see her face, but by the time he had moved enough to see her, she had fallen asleep or passed out. He knew he had heard her correctly, she had said '_I love you_', but he wasn't sure how much of it was the punch talking. He settled back down, pulling her back against him and vowed to speak with her in the morning when they were both sober.

* * *

Je t'aime, Evan. Puits de sommeil.--I love you, Evan. Sleep well. 


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: When I posted the other chapter last night, I really intended to end it there, but Evan wanted to give Aiden his reaction to her final words…so this little scene was born. If you don't want to know what happens after she passes out, don't read this._

_Standard disclaimer—they don't belong to me—I'm not making any money—yada yada yada—go read it from the first chapter, I'm just not gonna repeat it at this point._

* * *

Aiden became aware of the pain in her head first; then the comforting weight of Evan's body beside her in bed. Finally, in a rush, memories of the prior night came flowing back. She groaned and rolled away from Evan, burying her face in the pillow. He grinned at her actions. "I'm gathering you remember last night?" he asked. 

"Unfortunately," came her muffled reply. "I don't suppose you drank enough that_you_ forgot?"

"Nope," he replied cheerfully.

"Augh!" she responded. "You're a fucking cheerful hung over person."

He pushed her hair away from her face so he could see it, but that only caused her to bury it deeper in the pillow. "I didn't drink enough to be hung over."

"I _hate _you," she muttered, although there was no real heat behind her words.

He grinned. "That's not what you said last night. How much do you remember?"

She pulled back far enough that he could see one blue eye peering up at him. "Everything. I am _so sorry_."

"For which part?" he asked, running a finger down her spine. "The raging nympho in the game room? Telling Deke I'm too vanilla for a three-some?" He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Or are you sorry you said, 'Je t'aime' before you passed out?"

She groaned at his words. "I was really hoping the thing with Deke was a dream and not a memory."

He chuckled at her reaction, but noticed she didn't respond to his last question. "No, I'm afraid not. I think you actually managed to shock him."

"So how much damage did I do to our reputations?" she asked tentatively.

Not too much…for two reasons." He pulled her into his arms, not allowing her to roll away again when she tried. "One, you aren't completely to blame for your actions. The punch was spiked with an alien compound that lowers inhibitions and apparently makes you jump whoever's closest. Two, only Deke and I actually _witnessed_ your actions and comments." He tipped her chin up, kissing her gently. "You passed out before I could respond to your revelation last night."

She struggled for a moment, trying to get away from him, but he held her tightly, only easing up when she stopped fighting him. "Let me go, Evan," she requested quietly when she couldn't break his grip.

"Nope. You're going to lay here and listen to me for a minute." He settled her more comfortably against him and allowed her to turn so she wasn't looking at him although he didn't let her leave the circle of his arms, sensing that she needed to look away from him as he spoke. "I told you, you passed out before I could respond to you last night."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want you to hear that."

"Didn't want me to hear it because you didn't mean it or you didn't want me to know?" Evan asked.

Aiden fiddled with the sheet. "You weren't supposed to know it. This was supposed to be a lark; just fun. Our hearts weren't supposed to get involved."

"Did you just use the word 'lark', Aiden? While you're hung over?" he asked in disbelief, ignoring for a moment what she actually said to him.

"My hang over doesn't affect my vocabulary," she grumbled. "Can you please forget I said it?"

"No," he told her, "because you passed out before I could tell you I love you too. I may not have told you before, but I have for quite a while."

She twisted around in his arms. "You do?"

"I do." He grinned down at her. "You still want to take it back?"

She shook her head, than reached up as if to kiss him. Just before their lips met, her face took on a decidedly green tinge. She clapped a hand over her mouth and scrambled out of bed, making a mad dash for the bathroom. Evan fell back against the pillow with a groan as the distinctive sound of retching came from the other room. It wasn't exactly the most romantic ending to a declaration of love ever, but about par for the course for them. He tossed the blankets off himself and made his way into the bathroom, intending to offer what comfort he could to his ill linguist.


End file.
